Amazing culinary feats performed in my kitchen as I learn how to cook just about everything without recipes and pass that knowledge on to you. (If you came here looking for Dejamo's Distracted, you came to the right place.)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Boiled Fingerlings with Lemon, Garlic and Parsley

Potatoes have made their debut at the green market, and I am finding it hard to resist picking them up every week. My favorites are the little baby fingerlings and the purple potatoes, but I am running out of ways to prepare them and I don't always want to turn on the oven to roast them, especially right now in the middle of summer. I could use the slow cooker method I recently discovered, but that's only good when I have a whole mess of potatoes I need to cook up.

Lately, I have been boiling them. It's quick and easy and doesn't involve a lot of thought. I just wash them and put them in a pot of cold water, bring it up to a boil, add salt, lower the heat, cover, and let it cook for 15-20 minutes, until a knife inserted into one of the potatoes goes in and out smoothly, without any resistance. After that it is a quick matter to dress it up in something fancy and take it out on the town.

These boiled fingerlings with lemon, garlic and parsley make a quick side dish to make any entree proud. It's a quick take on gremolata, with which I have long been intrigued.

Wash potatoes and place in 3-quart saucepan with cold water. Bring to a boil. Add generous amount of salt, lower heat, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until a knife inserted into a potato goes in smoothly and comes out easily.

Drain potatoes. Depending on their size, either leave them whole, cut them in half, or slice them into 3/4-inch pieces and put in a large mixing bowl. While still hot, add oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well. Serve immediately.

Full disclosure: The potatoes in the above picture were made with garlic powder and without the lemon zest, but you get the idea.

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About Me

I started a knitting blog in 2005, but it quickly evolved into a cooking blog. Since then I have been learning how to be a cook; that is, how to cook on the fly, without having to rely on recipes. I'm not always successful, but I'm always learning and hope to pass what I've learned along to others who are interested in learning how to cook without fear.